Table of Contents
- How courses are listed in Blackboard
- When and how to request a new Blackboard course
- How to copy course content
- How to request a course to be archived/removed
- How do I add or remove students in Blackboard
- How do I stop students from enrolling in a course?
1. How courses are listed in Blackboard
At UWB, we use a course naming convention that combines the course ID number, course name, quarter, and year to create an easily identifiable central course site. For example, the course BIS123a: Intro to Interdisciplinary Studies taught in the fall of '09 will appear in Blackboard system with a Blackboard course id of "BIS123a-F09" and a Blackboard course name of "BIS123a: Intro to Interdisciplinary Studies" (the quarter abbreviations are as follows: F for fall quarter, W for winter, S for spring and Su for summer).
2. When and how to request a new Blackboard course
Faculty can use the Blackboard Course Request Form to request Blackboard courses. It is recommended that requests are made at least a week or two before instruction begins to ensure that your Blackboard course is ready in time. Please request a Blackboard course for each quarter you teach a class with Blackboard, because the UWB naming convention identifies the time frame in which the course is taught. Re-using Blackboard courses for other quarters can lead to confusion and other complications for your students.
3. How to copy course content
If you would like to reuse course material from one quarter to another, request a new Blackboard course and use the "Control Panel > Packages and Utilities > Course Copy" menu option in your old course to copy the material you want to the new course. When you have reached the page, choose "Copy course materials to an existing course", fill out all of the information, and click Submit. It's recommended that you don't simply reuse the old course since it will have the incorrect quarter listed as part of its course number. It's also recommended that you make the old course unavailable for student enrollment via the "Control Panel > Settings > Enrollment Options."
4. How to request a course to be archived/removed
To request that a course is archived/removed, email the IT Helpdesk at it@uwb.edu from your UWB mail account and include the course ID number, course name, quarter, and year for the specified course. Courses are not usually removed from Blackboard unless requested.
5. How do I add or remove students in Blackboard
Students self-enroll in courses but can't remove themselves from a course. You can use the "Control Panel > Remove Users from Course" menu option in your Blackboard course to remove students. A typical usage scenario for the removal feature would be when a student enrolls in the wrong course or course section, since only instructors can unenroll students from their courses. If you would like more information or help, see the Managing Users in Your Course section of the UWB Faculty Blackboard 9.1 Tutorial.
6. How do I stop students from enrolling in a course?
You can stop students from enrolling in your Blackboard course by going to the "Control Panel > Customization > Enrollment Options" and either setting a date that has already passed under "Self Enrollment" or picking the "Instructor / System Administrator" option. It is a good practice to close registration after the tenth day of classes to avoid any erroneous enrollments. An alternative to closing enrollments is to set a password that students would have to enter in order to enroll, also available in the Enrollment Options menu.